Story in gamification: enhancing engagement for socializer and killer player types, with no effect on performance
Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/17501229.2026.2700609
- Dergi Adı: Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, MLA International Bibliography, Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Academic writing, engagement, gamification, performance, player type, story
- TED Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Purpose: This study examines the impact of integrating the story element into a gamified English academic writing course on undergraduate students’ engagement and writing performance. It also investigates whether player type characteristics predict engagement and academic writing performance in gamified learning environments with and without a story element. Design/methodology/approach: Conducted with 83 university students in an academic writing course for eight weeks, the study used a quasi-experimental design where both groups received gamified content through the Classcraft platform, but only the experimental group was given the story element. Engagement was measured across cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions using a validated scale, and player type profiles were assessed to examine motivational variation by the player type scale. Academic writing performance was evaluated through a writing exam. Findings: No significant differences were observed between groups in overall engagement or writing outcomes. However, player type was found to be associated with certain dimensions of engagement within the experimental group. Specifically, in the experimental group, the socializer player type significantly predicted cognitive engagement, while the killer player type significantly predicted emotional engagement-2 (related to the instructor). Additionally, behavioral engagement was significantly predicted by both the killer and socializer player types. Originality/value: This study contributes to research on gamified language learning by examining the story element separately from other gamification components in an English academic writing context. It also shows that player type characteristics may be relevant for understanding how students engage with story-based gamified learning environments.